The Super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) launched its first ad of the 2022 midterm election cycle in Nevada recently, but this week it was pulled from airwaves for lying about Republican challenger Adam Laxalt.
As Politico covered, "a local TV station in Nevada took down a pro-Catherine Cortez Masto ad Tuesday after the [National Republican Senatorial Committee] complained it included 'flagrantly false' information" about Laxalt and threatened legal action if the ad continued to air.
Even though the Democrats' Senate Majority PAC fought back against the NRSC's objections, one station — the Reno CBS affiliate — said that after consulting with its own attorneys they would pull the ad "unless new documentation or information comes in that changes the course of our decision."
Other TV stations in Nevada continue to air the ad in defiance of the NRSC's threat of legal action, but as Politico pointed out, both parties "often send 'takedown' requests, but it's rare that they prevail."
Chuck Schumer's PAC launched its first ad in the nation to save my opponent.
— Adam Paul Laxalt (@AdamLaxalt) October 27, 2021
Now it's getting taken down for spreading false information.
Nevadans can't trust Masto and Schumer's lies, this proves they'll say anything to win. pic.twitter.com/t1k6rthQ9l
Republican challenger Laxalt heralded the TV station's decision to pull the pro-Democrat attack ad as a blow to the Senate Majority PAC's credibility. "Chuck Schumer is so desperate to save Catherine Cortez Masto that he's attacking me for her own failures," Laxalt said in a statement. "Masto has been in office for 5 years and what's been the result? Sky-high unemployment, massive inflation, a crisis at our border, and embarrassment abroad," he explained. "This shows that she and Schumer will say anything to win this race, no matter if it aligns with the facts or not and proves to Nevadians that they can't trust their words."
A poll of Nevada voters released earlier this month showed a competitive race ahead with the incumbent having only a small lead over Laxalt — roughly four points — 45.5 percent to 41.2 percent. Former President Donald Trump gave Laxalt his "complete and total endorsement" in August.